Source: The Times Wednesday September 29 1999

Source: The Sunday Times May 28 2000

Source: The Sunday Times 26 September 1999

Seagull suspect in flat blaze

A seagull may have started a blaze that destroyed a seafront apartment. The fire at the Van Allen building in Brighton, where the ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton once lived, wrecked the interior of the empty £750,000 penthouse after breaking out on the balcony.

Investigators believe a seagull may have picked up a cigarette from the street thinking it was food and then dropped it on the balcony. Firemen suspect that the sun's rays passing through glass panels on the balcony could have set alight the wooden decking.

Source The Telegraph 14 Aug 2003